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Feb. 27, 2019 UPSP 213-200 Vol. 154, No. 40
North Missourian
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Windstream files for Chapter 11 after legal loss Windstream Holdings Inc., a rural telecommunications company which serves Gallatin and many other area towns, filed for bankruptcy protection on Feb. 25. The bankruptcy announcement came days after the rural telecom service provider lost a legal battle against Aurelius Capital Management over a spinoff of its network assets into a real estate investment trust. Aurelius, a Windstream bond holder, accused the company of violating its bond
covenant when it spun off its copper wire and fiber cable business into a new company in 2015. A U.S. district court on Feb. 15 agreed, and ruled in Aurelius’ favor. Judge Jesse Furman of the Federal District Court in Manhattan ruled that Windstream had violated bond covenants when it spun off its fiber-optic cable business into a new company called Uniti Group. According to Ars Technica and several
other sources, Windstream was hit with a $310 million judgment in a legal loss to the capital management firm. The bankruptcy filing will allow the company to continue to operate while reorganizing its finances. “The Board of Directors and management team determined that filing for voluntary Chapter 11 protection is a necessary step to address the financial impact of (the) decision,” Chief Executive Officer
Plunge raises $14,945 ...and counting The weather was miserable, but that didn’t stop 53 plungers from braving the cold for Special Olympics, raising almost $15,000 and still counting, in their dedicated effort. Results are as follows: Top Law Enforcement Team Fundraising: 1st Western Missouri Correctional Center, $4,136; 2nd Chillicothe Correctional Center, $3,178; and 3rd Cross-
roads Correctional Center. Top Fundraising Teams: 1st Access II, $955; 2nd The Justice (Trenton PD), $609; 3rd Lake Viking Marine, $325. Top Fundraising Schools: 1st Polo High School, $375; 2nd Chillicothe High School, $100. Top Fundraising Individuals: 1st Jennifer Brownlee, $1,504; 2nd Carrie Pfeifer, $1,140; 3rd Megan Shrewsbury, $1,432.
Plunger Awards Best Dressed Team: 1st Access II, Circus Food; 2nd Daviess County Sheriff ’s, StrongmanBaby-Bearded Lady; 3rd WMCC, Circus Group. Best Dressed Individuals: 1st Rich Smith, It Clown; 2nd James Runde, Snake Charmer; 3rd Jennifer Brownlee, Ringmaster. Appreciation is extended to (continued on page 16)
Brice Terry at Louisville, KY
Hy-Strung wins 2nd at national tractor pull Hy-Strung Motorsports of Gallatin took second at the 2019 Championship Tractor Pull at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, KY, on Feb. 16, culminating the best season that they have had since they began competing. The Louisville event, according to Brice Terry, is possibly the most prestigious indoor pull in the nation. “If you ever win at Louisville, you’ve really done something,” Brice says. There were five sessions
at the show, each with several classes, and each class had 12 tractors competing. Contestants are chosen by a committee after making application to the show. Brice and the Hy-Strung crew competed on weekends throughout the summer. Hy-Strung won the Pro Pulling League (PPL) Western Series Championship for the season, which was from May through September. Out of six PPL events, HyStrung earned two first place finishes, two seconds, one third,
and was disqualified once for running out of bounds. They also won the National Champions Tour at Wheatland, MO, on Sept. 14, and competed in the Outlaw Pulling Association, winning pulls at Macon, MO, the Missouri State Fair, and both nights at Wisner, NE. Out of the 12 pulls they attended this past summer, they took first place at seven events. Hy-Strung is in the 6400-lb. lightweight super stock class.
Tony Thomas was quoted as saying. The company listed assets in the range of $10 billion to $50 billion and liabilities in the range of $10 billion to $50 billion. With the approval of the bankruptcy court, Windstream plans to continue paying employees and maintaining services and vendor relationships. Citigroup (C) has committed $1 billion in debtor-inpossession financing to help the company continue operating.
Polo man arrested at Lake Viking Security Office for promoting child pornography Jay C. Guhlke, 33, Polo, was arrested Feb. 22 for promoting and possession of child pornography, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control. The arrest was the result of an investigation conducted by members of the Division of Drug and Crime Control’s Digital Forensics Investigative Unit. The Patrol was assisted by the Caldwell County Sheriff ’s Office and the Daviess County Sheriff ’s Office. According to the probable cause statement filed by the Highway Patrol, the HP investigator downloaded a pornographic video file from an IP address which was registered to MidStates Service of Grundy County. Mid-States responded to a court-ordered subpoena indicating the IP address was being used at the account of the Lake Viking Security Office in Daviess County. The investigator downloaded the same video file from a device at an IP address being used at the home of Guhlke in Polo. On Feb. 22, investigators executed a search warrant at Guhlke’s residence located on South Highway 13 in Polo. As a result of their search, investigators seized child pornography and computer equipment. While the search was being executed at Guhlke’s residence, additional officers located Guhlke at his place of employment, the Lake Viking Security Office. Investigators executed a second search warrant on electronic equipment, which was on his per-
son. As a result of their search, additional child pornography and computer equipment were seized. Guhlke was arrested and transported to the DaviessDeKalb Regional Jail. During a post-Miranda interview, Guhlke admitted he uses BitTorrent software to download files showing child pornography. He admitted to having sexual contact with at least three children while he was an adult. He admitted that in the past seven years at his home near Polo he had sexual contact with a female child around age 10, and he recorded himself making the sexual contact. The Daviess County Prosecuting Attorney formally charged Guhlke with promoting child pornography and two counts of possession of child pornography. His bond has been set at $100,000. The Division of Drug and Crime Control encourages Internet users to report promptly to the Patrol or local law enforcement anyone who attempts to engage in unwanted, inappropriate, or sexualized communications with children. The Digital Forensics Investigative Unit is partially funded by the Missouri Department of Public Safety State Cyber Crime Grant and the Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The above charges are mere accusations and are not evidence of guilt. Evidence in support of these charges must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
New development in pharmacy situation After the recent announcement of two new pharmacies planning to open in Gallatin, one of the parties, Dungy’s Market, has now announced that they will not pursue the location of a pharmacy in their grocery store. According to Jeremy and Rikki Dungy, they decided to withdraw from the quest for a pharmacy in their store after they learned that Mackenzie Morrison, who had been employed at the Shopko pharmacy in Gallatin for 10 years, was planning to open
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DAR Chapters launch ‘Project Video’ to record area veteran stories Missouri State Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), including the Gallatin Chapter, presented the Cameron Veterans Home with a video camera, microphone, stand, and cart for storage on Feb. 25 during a ceremony held in the chapel. The goal of the “Video Project” is to record history and preserve and highlight each veteran’s efforts to fight for our country and for peace. State Vice-Regent Joan Magee, representing the DAR, noted that the video project focused on the DAR state theme — to seek to serve what matters most in historic preservation, education, and patriotism. Sue Wagner, St. Joseph Chapter Regent, presented the program. She recognized Jerry Steele of Cameron,
a veteran and a retired school history teacher. Mr. Steele was responsible for planting the seed for the Video Project. He’d heard a lot of veteran stories, plus he had a few stories of his own. He witnessed many of our World War II veterans passing at an alarming rate, without their stories being recorded. Mr. Steele felt there was a need to record the stories on video and house them in the library at the Cameron Veterans Home. The stories could be shared with veterans’ families, area students, visitors, scholars, and all interested audiences. The stories could be viewed and personal copies could be made. Mr. Steele shared his idea to record the stories with
Barbara Caldwell, the Volunteer Coordinator at the Cameron VA. After Mrs. Wagner became regent at DAR, she reached out to Brad Haggard, Assistant Director, Homes Program, with the Missouri Veterans Commission. She asked what the DAR could do to benefit the veterans. He put her in touch with Mrs. Caldwell, who told her about the Video Project. Sandra Dozier, St. Joseph Chapter, researched video equipment. At the Northwest District DAR meeting last September, an invitation was issued to other chapters. Seven other chapters quickly joined with their support. (continued on page 3)
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